Not baked ziti

I’m sure there have been times in “earlier days” where even the frumest of us, now, had debated a kosher/non-kosher product,,,and lost to the almighty yetzer hara. If you happen to say “No, I’ve never experienced that.” Then stop being a liar and read up so you can understand the perfect rationalization and reason why a non-kosher item…can be kosher.

AP=Annoying Person Me=Me

Me: (Picks favorite food item off shelf) SICK!
AP: Is it kosher?
Me: Yeah AP it’s kosher, chill out. Why you gotta ask?
AP: You sure there’s a hechsher on it?
Me: Well yeah idk, (Scrambling to find some sort of “K” on the item or lucky OU) I’m pretty sure it’s on the box though.
AP: You’re not gonna find out first.
Me: Trust me, it’s fine. Plus this product doesn’t even have any milk or dairy, it’s totally ok.
AP: You should probably just stay away from it.
Me: It’s basically fruit AP. Trust me, I happen to know this one Halacha out of the million Halachas about processed food, it’s totally allowed.

OR
No, I’m sure this product is kosher, every other flavor is, it’s got to be ok to eat.

OR (My personal favorite)
Yeah, it’s definitely kosher. Every other box I’ve seen before has had an OU. Manufacturing must’ve made a mistake when printing this box and the OU wasn’t printed.

I’m sure we’ve all had this battle before. Come on, was there any real way, an absent OU was gonna stop you from consuming the food product you’ve been craving or obsessed with for weeks. Well after multiple consumptions of this particular food product, I finally won the battle and succumbed to the myth of its “kosher” status. Which product might you ask? Some brand of mozzarella cheese, I think called “Galbani” and I desperately needed it for this baked ziti I make. It had that Tablet-K hechsher, so I went with it.

The sneaky Tablet-K

Did I ever find it on CRC’s list of recommended hechshers? Maybe not. But what do they know.? Was it the only “kosher” cheese option in the Fort Collins grocery store, with the only kosher grocery store 65 miles away, Yes. Yes it was. So for me, that cheese with that unknown hechsher was coming home with me.

I later did some research after multiple uses, when my guilty conscience had taken over and my yetzer hara had finally been suppressed. It turns out, no one Orthodox respects Tablet-K. Apparently the mashgiach or whatever the person’s title is called, follows a unique Rabbeinu Tam, which is sourced from a Tosfos in some Gemara somewhere.

APPARENTLY that’s not legit enough. So even though chassidim put on a second pair of tefillin every morning, called Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, AND every chassidic sect carries out Shabbos until Rabbeinu Tam time (except Chabad), this Rabbeinu Tam Tosfos isn’t good enough by today’s poskim authorities. Cmon! Like who the heck of today’s Rabbiem have the guts to stand up to Rabbeinu Tam?! Are you the grandson of Rashi?! Oh you’re a descendant, like 20 generations later. Yeah ok buddy, I’ve heard that one before, and I’m related to King David. Prove it? Yeah, I’ll wait.

In the end though, I rationalized my ignorance by agreeing, with myself, that I had done the right thing, as I was told daily in Yeshiva, “Follow Chazal” “CHAZALl KNOWS ALL” “You think you or I know better than Chazal?!!” Well apparently we do in this one rare case regarding the only somewhat kosher cheese item in a 65 mile radius, which I needed for my insanely good tasting baked ziti.

Whoever came up with the quote “Ignorance is bliss” must’ve been Jewish.

1: Make some plain noodles, preferably
2: With that cooking, slice up mozzarella (about 3-4oz worth) about 1⁄4inch thick slices, or if it’s shredded ignore this step, and put it on a plate and in the microwave for about 30 seconds so it’s just slightly melted.
3: Once pasta is cooked and drained, put it back in the pot, thrown in your sliced mozzarella, if shredded throw in a ton. Also through in some red pepper flakes, lots of Italian seasoning, garlic powder, a little pepper, and tomato sauce.
4: Mix it all up, put it on a plate, and put in microwave for about a minute or until cheese is super melted.